Abstract
For the past six years, it has been my pleasure to serve as only the third editor of Applied Psychological Measurement. It is the journal’s associate editors, authors, editorial board members, and reviewers that have made the editorship such a pleasure. I want to particularly thank the former Editors, David J. Weiss and Mark Reckase who made my transition to the editorship much easier. I also want to thank the associate editors who handled the special sections of the journal: Se-Kang Kim, Richard Luecht, Niels Waller, and Edward Wolfe. Jennifer Lower and Erin Walsh of Sage Inc. helped enormously in the transition between the office at the University of Minnesota and Sage, Inc.And a special thanks to Margaret Ferdinand whose effort, patience, and skill as Managing Editor made the journal possible.
During the past six years, the journal has undergone substantial changes. It has transitioned to an online process for submission and review of manuscripts, and it has added two additional issues annually. The substantial contributions of its authors have been recognized in two important ways. In an analysis of Essential Science IndicatorsSM by Thomson Reuters, APM was listed among the most cited journals in the fields of Psychiatry and Psychology based on its citation rate from 2000 – 2010. Also, between 2006 and 2011, the number of subscriptions has increased from 1, 369 to 6,865. Whereas, most of the subscriptions were in hardcopy in 2006, now most of the subscriptions are electronic.
It is interesting to reflect on how the thinking and the practices in the field have been changing over the past six years due in part to the influence of APM. On the theoretical side, generalized linear models have unified the formerly separate areas of item response theory, factor analysis, mixed effects models, and structural equations. Concepts of differential item functioning are being incorporated into the broader framework of measurement invariance. Increasing applications of computer technology can be seen in the widening spread of computerized testing, automated test assembly, computerized scoring of constructed response items, and even computerized algorithms for generation of items. As multidimensional models, become increasingly feasible, there is substantial interest in whether the models can improve such things as the reliability of subscores and the equating of forms. At APM, the vision remains the same: to help foster new methods that will improve existing measures and enable the assessment of here-to-fore unmeasureable attributes for purposes of improving decision-making in various applications of psychology.
We were all pleased to learn that Professor Hua-hua Chang of the University of Illinois has accepted the editorship, and it gives me great pleasure to welcome him to the position. His vision and expertise will provide leadership to the journal and to our academic field. With our support as authors, associate editors, editorial board members, and reviewers he will continue the rich tradition of APM begun by David J. Weiss in 1976.